Board of Directors

Kate has been a Breastfeeding Counselor since May 2013. Her background is in engineering, project management and marketing. Her passion for breastfeeding sparked after an empowering experience nursing her second child. Kate started the Greater Western MA chapter of Breastfeeding USA and has served on the national level as a member of the Applications Workgroup since September 2013 and currently serves as the Applications Manager in additional to her duties as a Director on the board.

Kate makes her home with her husband, Damion, and three sons, Raymond, Theodore and Eugene.

Rebecca is a sociocultural anthropologist (PhD 2007, U Washington) with research and teaching specialties in East Asia, social movements, gender, motherhood, and breastfeeding. She has done volunteer mother-to-mother breastfeeding support and advocacy since 2006, earned the IBCLC credential in 2010, and became a Breastfeeding USA Counselor in 2011. Rebecca helped develop our Breastfeeding Counselor application and training systems and is a course tutor in the comprehensive education course. She now chairs our education committee.

Rebecca is a visiting assistant professor at Davidson College. Locally, she helps run the Lake Norman chapter of Breastfeeding USA and is active in her local Quaker Meeting. Rebecca has been married since 1995 and has a grown stepson, a soccer/piano-playing teenage son, a skittish dog, and a former Shanghai alley cat named Calvin.

Ginger has been a Breastfeeding USA Counselor for four years and served as the organization's bookkeeper for three years. She works as a freelance math tutor. She and her husband, Wil, reside in Apex, NC with their three kids, ages 9, 7, and 5. In her off time, she enjoys traveling, tolerates the camping that her children so dearly love, and will never be caught without a book in her pocket.

Toi received her Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineer from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan and soon will have a Master's of Science in Health and Human Performance from Northwestern State University of Louisiana. She became passionate about breastfeeding in 2007 and got heavily involved in online mother-to-mother support. She was previously a WIC Peer Counselor and also served on the USDA National Advisory Council on Maternal, Infant, and Fetal Nutrition. Toi is employed as a Resident Engineer in the Automotive Industry. She is married with four children and has started a Breastfeeding USA Chapter in Genesee County.

Tamika received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health Science with a concentration in Community Health Education and Promotion. She has also received a Masters in Public Health and is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). Tamika has been involved in reproductive health education which led her to discovering the field of lactation. As a mother of two who had many struggles with breastfeeding, she quickly became passionate about helping others to be successful in their breastfeeding journey. She is a Breastfeeding Counselor through Breastfeeding USA and founded and runs the Inland Empire Chapter in California and is working on growing it. She has also served as Chair of the Grievance Committee before being appointed to the Board. She currently works for the WIC program as a Breastfeeding Coordinator and is in the process of obtaining her doctorate in psychology (PsyD) with an emphasis on health.

Jada Wright Nichols is a maternal wellness consultant, helping new and expectant mothers remain healthy and happy through yoga, massage, nutrition, lactation support, and, postpartum doula services. She graduated from Tennessee State University, and has a masters degree in occupational therapy. She is passionate about women's wellness across the life span, and serves on non-profit boards for birthworkers, breastfeeding, and breast cancer. She is a Breastfeeding Counselor in Memphis, TN where she lives with her husband and daughter, who all love exploring the outdoors.

Ann has been a Breastfeeding USA Counselor since 2013, running a local meeting and moderating a 2,000+ member online breastfeeding support community in Indianapolis. On the national level, she served as Elections Chair for four years and is currently a course tutor. Ann has a BS in Computer Science from Xavier University and holds a Master's Certificate in Nonprofit Management. She works full-time as the development director of an international NGO and recently earned her Certified Fund Raising Executive credential (CFRE). She was appointed to a vacancy on the Board in 2016. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and two kids.

Her term is (2016-2018).

A baby uses 22 different muscles to breastfeed. "There is another compelling benefit to exclusive breastfeeding: positive effects on the development of an infant's oral cavity, including improved shaping of the hard palate resulting in proper alignment of teeth and fewer problems with malocclusions." ~Brian Palmer, DDS